At 31 years, Soliev will be the first to admit he is a pale shadow of his old lightning self. But coach Luiz Felipe Scolari can be heard telling anyone who cares to listen that he is the man to put one’s money on.

“Soliev is producing his best and it is amazing,” said Scolari. “I hope he will continue doing the same in the coming matches.”

In a squad chock-a-block with the likes of Rivaldo, Server Djeparov, Jose Luis Villanueva and Timur Kapadze, the wily Scolari’s fulsome praise for an ageing striker is not without basis.

Soliev has indeed pushed back the years recently with elan, hitting a purple patch that has produced a bevy of goals and shows little signs of abating.

The league matches saw the former Pakhtakor hitman bulging the net 12 times besides netting two goals in the AFC Champions League.

The Namangan native is also the second-highest all-time goalscorer in the AFC Champions League with 12 goals and within touching distance of Zaynitdin Tadjiyev who is the current top-scorer with 13 strikes.

Bunyodkor’s No 20 knows the advantage of youth is fast deserting him and most of his starts this year have been from the bench. But this has only steeled his determination and produced magical moments, mesmerising rival defences and fans alike.

“Bunyodkor as a team has not produced its best play yet and we have been very average so far,” said the Brazilian maestro.

Understandably, Scolari - bereft of the services of Villanueva - is set to slot the on-form Soliev into the starting line-up against Korea’s Pohang Steelers in the upcoming AFC Champions League quarter-finals.

And if Soliev’s recent heroics are any indication, it will take some doing on Pohang’s part to stop him from tying the AFC Champions League goalscoring record.